BETTER POLICY FOR PRISONS

Plan To Videotape Use Of Chemical Irritants Makes Sense

Whether or not there's any substance to a federal lawsuit accusing some
Florida corrections officers of torturing inmates with pepper spray and
tear gas, a recent proposal by the state Department of Corrections to
"tighten" procedures for using chemical irritants is wise.

The proposal would require most uses of chemicals on prisoners to be
videotaped.

The policy proposal, which would take effect after a public-hearing period,
is in response to the lawsuit, DOC Secretary James V. Crosby Jr. told
Herald-Tribune reporter Michael A. Scarcella.

"Obviously, when somebody challenges something, I think it would be foolish
not to look at what they are saying," Crosby said.

The lawsuit, filed in September, accuses guards, including six at Charlotte
Correctional Institution in Punta Gorda, of using chemical irritants to
punish unruly inmates rather than to subdue them.

Randall C. Berg Jr. of the Florida Justice Institute in Miami, who is
representing the plaintiffs, called the DOC's proposed policy change an
"admission of wrongdoing."

That's debatable. What's clear is that the policy change would provide
protection for both guards and inmates. The videotapes would provide solid
evidence of misbehavior, whether by guards or inmates. The mere presence of
the video cameras could help deter that behavior.

The videos would be recorded by permanent cameras mounted in
administrative, disciplinary and close management wings. Disruptive inmates
would be moved to the wings, where confinement is more restrictive. Then,
if the use of pepper spray or tear gas is still necessary, it would be taped.

Most gassings are already videotaped with hand-held cameras, according to
DOC policy, but officials say that some prisoners cease their unruly
behavior in the presence of the camera and resume it once the officers
leave. Stationary cameras, says the DOC, will deter such "gaming."

The policy change would be a good start, but only a start, at making state
prisons safer and more manageable. The DOC should make sure that state
prisons have enough guards to safely maintain order, and that inmates with
mental health problems get appropriate treatment. Prisons like CCI, where
habitual troublemakers are sent, need special attention.

Yet, the DOC deserves credit for responding to the accusations of abuse,
even as it mounts a legal defense against them.